BREEDING BIOLOGY OF PASSERINES IN THE SUBTROPICAL BRAZILIAN ATLANTIC FOREST

Information on breeding biology of birds is fundamental for the understanding of life history evolution and conservation. This information is only beginning to accumulate for Neotropical birds but the southern subtropics are still overlooked. Here we describe the breeding biology of passerines in subtropical Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We monitored 265 nests of 38 species during the 2012–2013 breeding season. Breeding began in September, but some species started as late as December. Average breeding season length was 64 days, but varied broadly across species. Average clutch sizes ranged from two to five eggs. The breeding season phenology, clutch sizes, and nesting periods were similar to other two communities at the same latitude in Argentina. Our data contribute to the debate that the combination of small clutch sizes and short breeding seasons seen in subtropical South America challenges the tropical-temperate paradigm of life-history theory

Cursos diurnos e noturnos: fatores de aprovação no vestibular da UFMG.

Esse estudo analisa dados do vestibular da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais de 2004, mediante um modelo de regressão não paramétrico, o Classification and Regression Trees. Seu objetivo foi identificar os principais fatores de aprovação e, também, verificar se esses fatores eram os mesmos para os cursos diurnos e noturnos. A resposta a essas questões permitiria verificar se a expansão do turno noturno feita por essa universidade vinha promovendo maior inserção social. Observou-se que, em geral, a conclusão do ensino médio em escolas públicas federais ou particulares, o conhecimento de língua estrangeira e o pertencimento a um grupo socioeconômico alto são fatores fortemente associados à aprovação do candidato. Verificou-se, ainda, que nos cursos noturnos as variáveis socioeconômicas têm maior relevância, enquanto nos cursos diurnos a formação do candidato adquire maior peso. Finalmente, o fator socioeconômico médio tende a ser maior para os candidatos aprovados

Tissue-specific mercury concentrations in two catfish species from the Brazilian coast

Some regions of Brazil have particularly high levels of mercury (Hg) emissions due to industrial activities, and their fish species may therefore suffer high levels of contamination through bioaccumulation. In this paper we assess Hg contamination in the muscle, liver, gills and blood of two different species of catfish collected from the Cananéia and Santos-São Vicente estuaries, São Paulo State, Brazil. Fish from the most polluted site (Santos-São Vicente) showed higher median Hg concentrations in both species (Cathorops spixii - liver: 1530 µg Kg-1, muscle: 327 µg Kg-1 and gill: 101 µg Kg-1; Genidens genidens - liver: 2617 µg Kg-1, muscle: 393 µg Kg-1 and gill: 118 µg Kg-1). Multivariate analysis revealed the importance and influence of key biological variables (size, condition, etc.) in determining the overall level of Hg and its distribution within different tissues.<br>Algumas regiões do Brasil apresentam, altos níveis de emissões de mercúrio (Hg) devido às atividades industriais, e suas espécies de peixes podem, portanto, estar expostos a elevados níveis de contaminação por meio da bioacumulação. Neste trabalho avaliamos a contaminação por Hg no músculo, fígado, brânquias e sangue de duas espécies de bagres coletados nos estuários de Cananéia e Santos-São Vicente, São Paulo, Brasil. Peixes amostrados no local mais poluído (Santos-São Vicente) mostraram maiores concentrações de Hg em ambas as espécies (Cathorops spixii - fígado: 1530 µg Kg-1, músculo: 327 µg Kg-1 e brânquias: 101 µg Kg-1; Genidens genidens - fígado: 2617 µg Kg-1, músculo: 393 µg Kg-1 e brânquias: 118 µg Kg-1). Análises multivariadas revelaram a importância e influência das principais variáveis biológicas (tamanho, condição, etc.) no teor geral de Hg e sua distribuição nos diferentes tecidos

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora